ESCONDIDO: Dogs in bite case to be euthanized at owner's request

The owners of two pit-bull mix dogs that reportedly bit a man in
a West Escondido gated community Tuesday have elected to euthanize
the animals, animal control officials said Wednesday.

Katie Woolsey, a spokeswoman for the Escondido Humane Society,
which is contracted to provide animal control for the city, said a
male and a female dog were taken to the shelter and placed under
quarantine Wednesday after officers determined that both dogs may
have bitten a 56-year-old man.

Animal control had planned to keep the dogs under a 10-day
quarantine at the shelter, with an administrative hearing to follow
to determine whether the dogs were dangerous, Woolsey said.

But that plan was dropped Wednesday when the owner chose to
euthanize the 5-year-old pets, which have been the subject of prior
complaints, she said.

Woolsey refused to provide the names of the dogs' owners and the
exact locations and dates that animal control officers responded to
the previous complaints.

She and other officials from the Escondido Humane Society said
the nonprofit, under contract by the city, did not have to make
such information public.

By contrast, state, county and city public safety agencies must
make basic information about time and location of calls for service
public under California law.

On Tuesday, animal control officers had placed only one dog
under quarantine, and were allowing both dogs to stay at their
Emerald Heights home, Woolsey said.

However, on Wednesday, after reviewing the case, animal control
officials decided it was unclear which dog had bitten the victim,
and decided to keep both animals at the shelter for quarantine,
Woolsey said.

Resident Tom Atkinson said he was out jogging Tuesday morning
when he came across the loose dogs menacing a neighbor and the
neighbor's leashed dog on Rock View Glen.

Atkinson said he at first stomped and yelled, then punched and
kicked at the dogs when they charged him. He said the dogs ran off,
but they returned, this time charging and biting him. He said he
suffered a deep bite to the arm, and another to the leg.

Woolsey said animal control had previous contacts with the dogs
before Tuesday, including taking a report that one of the dogs had
bitten someone at the owners' previous Escondido address. However,
she could not provide details of that case Wednesday.

She said the pair of dogs also has been reported loose from the
owners' previous address. She said animal control officers had
never caught them off their property, so the owners had not been
cited.